This past Friday, a friend told me that he thought, as a result of my having lived in many countries and having experienced many cultures, I was jaded. After some discussion, I determined that what he meant to say was really quite the opposite.
My friend told my that he had been listening to my, Voice of Reason, radio program the previous evening. During that program my guest, Rick Haver, and I had been discussing some of the good things happening in Marion and, to be honest, each of us expressed some impatience and frustration with how painfully slow things seem to happen here.
My friend went on to tell me that he thought perhaps my guest and I expected too much of Marion. He explained that during the 70's and 80's (while I was away) Marion was really much worse. Downtown businesses were closing shop, buildings were boarded up and abandoned and, industry was moving out. "By comparison," he said "Marion is doing OK."
Perhaps he is the one who is jaded. Seems to me that he might be the cynical one who had adopted a formula of lowered expectations to measure success.
Let us imagine that our children are just doing OK. In school they achieve a little less than average grades. They are not working at it with any real gusto. Also, they are having some disciplinary issues but, they don't get into any really "serious" trouble. They're doing OK. As a parent, would you be satisfied with that? I hope not!
My practice has been to set my goals really high. Sometimes I don't get there. However, I tend to end up well beyond what might be considered OK. High expectations always yield greater results than lower expectations. Always have and always will!
In my initial column I said that today's piece would address Citizen Involvement in Marion's Future and, in an indirect way it does. Here's how it all fits together: I expect a greater participation in the election process - I nag about it - I try to encourage - I try to motivate people to get involved. I have a simple measuring device for whether or not I am having any impact. Voter turnout. I want Marion to understand that it is embarrassing to have as few as 3500 voters determine who our next Mayor is going to be, as in the last election. I expect the voters of Marion to turn out in greater numbers this year. I expect the winning candidates to perform at a higher standard than ever before. I expect that they will set goals for Marion that are previously unheard and possibly even unattainable. And then, I expect them to work really hard. If they do work hard and still we fail as a community to achieve those goals, we are not a failure, we are a success. A success because whatever the result, we will still be miles and miles ahead of where we would have been if we had all sat complacently and agreed that Marion is doing OK.
We must elect leaders with vision and demand that they perform to their maximum potential..
Marion may never lead a nation-wide poll as the best place in America to live, work and, raise a family but, that's no reason to not strive for that goal. Whatever we becomeas a result of that kind of effort, we will surely be better than OK.
